World Soccer.—Armando León went from being a complete unknown to Mexican fans to the big surprise of Rafael Márquez’s first official roster as head coach of the Mexican National Team. The 26-year-old, 1.89-meter-tall forward for NK Osijek in Croatia, who was born in Ensenada, was included in the 28-man roster for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals against Jamaica—the coach’s first official test.
According to Claro Sports, León scored a brace and added an assist against Dinamo Zagreb on September 12, and his goals went viral on TikTok and X. In his first 13 official matches with Osijek, he has scored five goals and recorded two assists, and he is the first Mexican in the club’s history, having joined in July 2026 as a free agent.
His path was not the usual one. According to a report in SoyFutbol, León came up through the ranks at Pachuca and played for Mineros de Zacatecas, León, and Alebrijes de Oaxaca before heading to Europe: in 2024, he joined Rangers FC in Andorra, where he was coached by Jaime Durán for a year and a half. Durán tempered expectations on MVS Deportes: he noted that Márquez is not a “killer” in the box, though he is a forward with qualities to contribute to the national team.
The call-up, announced on Thursday, November 5, is also a statement of intent by Márquez. According to Claro Sports, the coach is looking to expand his offensive options and find different types of players, and León is competing for a spot in the center of the attack alongside Santiago Giménez of Porto and Armando “Hormiga” González of Olympiacos. It’s a low-risk move: the call-up is an opportunity, not a guarantee of a spot on the roster, as Claro Sports noted.
The call-up is not without controversy. Carlos Hermosillo questioned the selections of León and Giménez based on their current form and cast doubt on the selection criteria, even going so far as to accuse the committee of commercial interests—though he himself acknowledged that this might be a misinterpretation. It’s the buzz that accompanies every surprise; the only possible answer lies on the field.
For Márquez, the series is much more than a formality: he enters it winless in his first four matches at the helm of El Tri, with losses to the United States and Chile and draws against Colombia and Peru. Mexico is defending the title it won in March against Panama thanks to a two-goal performance by Raúl Jiménez—who is currently recovering from knee surgery—and the winner advances to the finals in March at SoFi Stadium and to the 2027 Gold Cup.
For León, the series is a showcase. According to a report in *La Máquina Celeste*, Cruz Azul has him on its radar as a replacement for Gabriel “Toro” Fernández, and Chivas and Rayados are also keeping an eye on him. The first leg is on Saturday, the 14th, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time in Kingston, and the second leg is on Tuesday, the 17th, at 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time at Estadio BBVA in Monterrey. If he scores in Kingston or Monterrey, he’ll go from being a social media sensation to a real contender for the national team.
A note: there is a minor discrepancy among sources regarding his stats—ranging from 12 to 14 games played and one or two assists; in this article, I used five goals and two assists in 13 games, according to Claro Sports, which is the most commonly cited figure.
